Five local teams to take part in annual FCA 7-on-7

West Henderson goes up against Asheville during last year's Henderson County 7-on-7 Fellowship of Christian Athletes invitational at T.C. Roberson. Today's event begins at 9 a.m.

MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

By Brittany JacksonTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 8:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 8:41 p.m.

This year's annual Henderson County Fellowship of Christian Athletes 7-on-7 football invitational will see good representation from Henderson, Transylvania and Polk counties.

The ninth annual FCA scrimmage, hosted by Hendersonville and T.C. Roberson at Roberson, will feature action from HHS, East Henderson, West Henderson, Polk County, Brevard, Enka and Roberson. Steve McNamara, head of Henderson County FCA, sponsors the event.

"A lot of teams are doing more and more of the 7-on-7's — we've had quite a few this summer — but you don't see that many teams at one time," said HHS head football coach B.J. Laughter. "When you see six or seven it's neat because you get to see so many different philosophies on offense and defense. That gets your players some experience covering different formations and the offense gets to see different defensive strategies."

As varsity coaches are still feeling out their teams and trying to fill positions, the 7-on-7 provides them one last preseason scrimmage to see their players in action.

"It's a late-summer competition that allows coaches to see guys that have never played varsity before and look to see how they handle every situation," Laughter said. "It gives you an idea of how they respond to certain scenarios; are they competitive and will they go up for that pass or not?"

Laughter set up the seedings and allotted times for teams to scrimmage each other. Once the three-hour scrimmage is finished the players and coaches will hear from a speaker sought out by McNamara and Biltmore Baptist.

"We really encourage sportsmanship with it being a FCA sponsored event," Laughter said. "We just appreciate Steve and Biltmore Baptist for helping so much; it's a lot of time and effort being put into it from other people which allows us to just show up and play."

In years past the speakers have been former players from schools like Clemson, South Carolina and Alabama.

The 7-on-7 will get underway today at 9 a.m. at Roberson, and will run until about noon when the players will break for the speaker and lunch.

<p>This year's annual Henderson County Fellowship of Christian Athletes 7-on-7 football invitational will see good representation from Henderson, Transylvania and Polk counties. </p><p>The ninth annual FCA scrimmage, hosted by Hendersonville and T.C. Roberson at Roberson, will feature action from HHS, East Henderson, West Henderson, Polk County, Brevard, Enka and Roberson. Steve McNamara, head of Henderson County FCA, sponsors the event. </p><p>"A lot of teams are doing more and more of the 7-on-7's — we've had quite a few this summer — but you don't see that many teams at one time," said HHS head football coach B.J. Laughter. "When you see six or seven it's neat because you get to see so many different philosophies on offense and defense. That gets your players some experience covering different formations and the offense gets to see different defensive strategies." </p><p>As varsity coaches are still feeling out their teams and trying to fill positions, the 7-on-7 provides them one last preseason scrimmage to see their players in action. </p><p>"It's a late-summer competition that allows coaches to see guys that have never played varsity before and look to see how they handle every situation," Laughter said. "It gives you an idea of how they respond to certain scenarios; are they competitive and will they go up for that pass or not?" </p><p>Laughter set up the seedings and allotted times for teams to scrimmage each other. Once the three-hour scrimmage is finished the players and coaches will hear from a speaker sought out by McNamara and Biltmore Baptist. </p><p>"We really encourage sportsmanship with it being a FCA sponsored event," Laughter said. "We just appreciate Steve and Biltmore Baptist for helping so much; it's a lot of time and effort being put into it from other people which allows us to just show up and play." </p><p>In years past the speakers have been former players from schools like Clemson, South Carolina and Alabama. </p><p>The 7-on-7 will get underway today at 9 a.m. at Roberson, and will run until about noon when the players will break for the speaker and lunch.</p>